Schrödinger's Car: The 2025 BMW M4 CS Coupe
- Mike Hagerty
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read
The BMW M4 CS Coupe you see here is a 2025---and there will be no 2026 model.
That's normal for M CS models (M2 CS, M3 CS, M4 CS)---they are all limited production (BMW says fewer than 2,000 examples of the 2025 M4 CS were built globally) and they are usually only built for one model year.
So, it's three months into 2026 and that means the 2025 BMW M4 CS Coupe is gone, right?
Not necessarily. According to Edmunds, there are 15 still available nationwide as I write this. That may change by the time you're reading this. You won't know until you look (we were wondering when you were going to pay off on Schrödinger, Mike).
If there are any remaining, you can score one slightly used (as of this writing, there are three listed with less than 1,000 miles on the odometer---one with only 290 miles).
The 2025 BMW M4 CS Coupe's twin-turbo 3-liter inline six-cylinder makes 543 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque (20 horsepower more than the next most powerful M4, the BMW M4 Competition Coupe with xDrive). It's all-wheel drive and the transmission is an eight-speed M Steptronic unit. Carbon fiber has been used extensively to reduce weight.
Here come the performance numbers. They are nothing short of stunning:
Zero to 62 miles per hour (the Europeans measure 0-100 kilometers per hour, which is 62 mph) in 3.4 seconds. Zero to 124 mph (200 km/h) in 11.1 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 188 mph (302 km/h).
But wait. There's more.
The M4 CS Coupe is very much a track-focused car. So BMW took it to the track.
Let me rephrase that.
BMW took it to THE track.
The Nürburgring’s 12.9-mile Nordschleife circuit:
The official notarized lap time? 7:21.99.
You don't do that just by having a lot of power under the hood---though the engine is worth talking about. Let's let BMW's press folks do that:
The engine starts with an extremely rigid crankcase, which features a sleeve-free, closed-deck construction and is designed to handle very high combustion pressure. The forged lightweight crankshaft provides exceptional torsional resistance, which in turn contributes to rapid power delivery and a willingness to rev. The wire-arc sprayed iron coating of the weight-saving cylinder bores reduces frictional losses. The cylinder head itself has a 3D-printed core, which allows the coolant ducts to be routed in an optimum arrangement for temperature management that would be impossible to achieve using conventional metal casting methods. And the oil supply system – like the cooling system – is designed to handle the specific challenges of track use, including sustained high revs and extreme lateral acceleration.
And the rest of the parts and pieces are no less serious.
There's a dual-branch exhaust system, which features electrically controlled flaps, a titanium rear silencer with weight-minimizing design, and two pairs of tailpipes finished in matte Black. The sound it makes is glorious and it adapts to each of the selectable drive modes the M4 CS Coupe features.
The suspension is a major player as well, and again, let's let BMW explain:
The individually tuned axle kinematics and unique wheel camber settings, dampers, auxiliary springs, and anti-roll bars optimize steering precision, transmission of lateral control forces when cornering, spring and damping response, and wheel location.The electronically controlled dampers of the Adaptive M suspension have a setup specific to the M4 CS, as do the electromechanical M Servotronic steering with variable ratio and the integrated braking system. The settings for the DSC system and M Dynamic Mode have also been geared to the specific demands of highly dynamic driving. M Dynamic Mode (MDM) gives drivers extra leeway to explore the car’s dynamic limits by pushing back the intervention points for the DSC system’s various stabilizing measures. When the M4 CS is driven very aggressively, the resultant wheel slip ensures better power transmission and helps to propel the CS down the road with extra assurance.
And if you're gonna go 188 mph (on a track, of course), you'd better be able to stop.
M Compound brakes with red or black calipers are standard equipment. Our CS had the optional M Carbon Ceramic brakes with gold calipers.
19-inch wheels at the front and 20s at the rear are standard with high performance tires---275/35 ZR19 at the front, and 285/30 ZR20 at the rear. Track tires are a no cost option as are ultra-track tires, specifically engineered to maximize performance on a circuit.
There are some practicalities to the 2025 BMW M4 CS Coupe, as well. The trunk can hold 16 cubic feet of cargo.
The back seat is a tight squeeze if the front seats are all the way back, but that's really a setting for fairly tall people. I'm 5' 10" and a half, and anyone sitting behind me would have about 34 inches of legroom to work with.
The front seats are M Carbon buckets. If those handles on either side of the seat bottom look like a significant hurdle to clear getting in and out of the car, you're absolutely right. You know those protective cups baseball catchers wear? Not a bad idea. Once in, though, those keep you in place against the lateral g-forces the M4 CS is capable of generating.
The base price of the 2025 BMW M4 CS Coupe is $123,500---$124,675 with destination. That buys an exceptionally long list of standard equipment (see the window sticker at the end of the review).
There were only two extra-cost options on our test car---the previously mentioned M Carbon Ceramic brakes ($8,500) and the Frozen Isle of Man Green paint ($4,500), so the bottom line on the window sticker reads $137,675.
This is an exceptional performance automobile and its rarity is an added bonus. Remember---the only way to know if you can still get one is to go look.
2026 BMW M4 CS Coupe at a glance
Price: $123,500 base/$137,675 as tested
Engine: Twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six-cylinder
Horsepower: 543
Torque: 479 lb-ft
Transmission: Eight-speed M Steptronic
Curb Weight: 3,900 lbs.
0-62 mph acceleration (manufacturer data): 3.4 seconds
EPA Fuel Economy Estimate: 16 mpg city/23 mpg highway
Fuel tank capacity: 15.6 gallons
EPA Range Estimate: 281 miles
